We turned.  It was Herman who had joined us.  Without pausing for an answer he added, “I suppose you are aware of the character of this place?  It looks fine, but the games are all crooked, and I guess there are some pretty desperate characters here, from all accounts.  I shouldn’t like to fall afoul of any of them, if I were you.”

“Oh, no,” replied Garrick, “it wouldn’t be pleasant.  But we came in well introduced, and I don’t believe anyone suspects.”

Several others, talking and laughing loudly to cover their chagrin over losses, perhaps, entered the buffet.

With the gratuitous promise to stand by us in trouble of any kind, Herman excused himself, and returned to watch the play about the roulette table.

Garrick and I leisurely finished the little bite of salad we had ordered, then strolled upstairs again.

The play was becoming more and more furious.  Forbes was losing again, but was sticking to it with a grim determination that was worthy of a better cause.  Warrington had already made one attempt to get him away but had not succeeded.

“Well,” remarked Garrick, as we three made our way slowly to the coatroom downstairs, “I think we have seen enough of this for to-night.  It isn’t so very late, after all.  I wonder if it would be possible to get into that ladies’ poolroom on the next street?  I should like to see that place.”

“Angus could get us in, if anyone could,” replied Warrington thoughtfully.  “Wait here a minute.  I’ll see if I can get him away from the wheel long enough.”

Five minutes later he came back, with Forbes in tow.  He shook hands with us cordially, in fact a little effusively.  Perhaps I might have liked the young fellow if I could have taken him in hand for a month or two, and knocked some of the silly ideas he had out of his head.

Forbes called a taxicab, a taxicab apparently being the open sesame.  One might have gone afoot and have looked ever so much like a “good thing” and he would not have been admitted.  But such is the simplicity of the sophistication of the keepers of such places that a motor car opens all locks and bolts.

It seemed to be a peculiar place and as nearly as I could make out was in a house almost in the rear of the one we had just come from.

We were politely admitted by a negro maid, who offered to take our coats.

“No,” answered Forbes, apparently with an eye to getting out as quickly as possible, “we won’t stay long tonight.  I just came around to introduce my friends to Miss Lottie.  I must get back right away.”

For some reason or other he seemed very anxious to leave us.  I surmised that the gambling fever was running high and that he had hopes of a change of luck.  At any rate, he was gone, and we had obtained admittance to the ladies’ pool room.